Obiter dicta by Professor Gavin Brown AO

University Challenge

14 May 1998

Imagine a country where a point-duty policeman earns three times as much as a university professor, where the shaving socket is labelled “White Elephant Barand”, and where kids visiting national treasures wear plastic funspecs with nose and moustache attached, producing cadres of mini Groucho lookalikes.

Imagine too a country where the government proclaims that education and science are the engines of future development and commits to ensuring that some leading universities are world class, where these leading institution levy and retain fees from all students and their fees vary according to the status of the university, and where students who seek to transfer to a course of choice are encouraged to pay additional fees to achieve this.

Both images represent the People’s Republic of China. I write after a night at the Beijing Opera, at the end of a first week visiting Chinese universities. As happens to any short term visitor, the experience reveals more of one’s own country.

This week began with a conference bringing together 80 university presidents from around the world as part of the 100-year anniversary of Peking University. Australia was represented by the vice-chancellors of Sydney, Melbourne and UNSW, for the Chinese have no inhibition about identifying significant institutions. World recognition was not the only reward for PKU because alumni and friends donated more than US$18 million as birthday gifts.

Both President and Premier attended a grand ceremony in the Great Hall of the People where the Government pledged itself to international outreach on behalf of its top universities. On the same day the South China Morning Post, delivered in the hotel, advertised 15-month part-time doctorates from an Australian university.

The Chinese turn first to Oxford, Harvard and Stanford but show great interest in Australia and our flagship institutions. Universities here, some perhaps a little nervous of front runners like Beijing, Tsinghua, Fudan and Shanghai Jiaotong, ask what measures promote our centres of excellence. We explain that almost 5 per cent of government operating grant rewards merit but that the West Report contemplates taxing universities on their historical receipts from government in order to promote level competition. Incredulous chuckles suggest that our response is seen as polite self-deprecation.

Following the Beida birthday bash our University of Sydney delegation, hosted by the Ministry of Education, has become a touring caravan. We have been impressed by the extraordinary capacity and enthusiasm of the high calibre students (standard entry TER over 95) and the commitment and collaborative potential of the staff. Our own openness and willingness to explore joint ventures has, I believe, been warmly welcomed, the more so because Sydney has appeared as aloof and disengaged in the past.

Our visit will result in memoranda with carefully selected universities but that is merely a framework for deeper engagement with the New China. The investment opportunities have the chance and challenge to be part of these developments.